Wimbledon should break links with HSBC because the bank is “complicit in persecution and human rights violations,” MPs said today.
Members of the Commons All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hong Kong cited HSBC’s support for China’s draconian security law.
The London Stock Exchange-listed bank makes the majority of its money in Hong Kong, while having £2.5 trillion in assets spread across 64 countries.
Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton was the recipient of the MPs’ letter.
It stated: ‘This year, on the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China, we must demonstrate Hongkongers that they are not alone, and that those who support their tyranny will not benefit from doing so,’ according to The Telegraph.
‘The AELTC embodies some of Wimbledon’s most cherished principles of integrity and respect,’ the letter continued.
‘Receiving financial assistance from a bank that profits from human rights violations is a stain on that good reputation.’
Pro-democracy protestors assaulted HSBC cash machines in Hong Kong after the bank spoke out in support of measures that would bring the self-governed city under Chinese rule.
After huge protests, the contentious bill was passed in 2021, allowing closed-room court cases.
Another contentious feature is a new Chinese law enforcement agency in Hong Kong that is only answerable to Beijing.
Where the two laws conflict, Chinese law now takes precedence over Hong Kong law.
The letter’s signatories include Labour MP for neighbouring Mitcham and Morden Siobhan McDonagh and ex-Green Party leader Baroness Bennett.
Wimbledon fought calls to withdraw its lucrative sponsorship arrangement with the bank after activists raised concerns over the business’s ties to Hong Kong security legislation last year.
HSBC recently unveiled a new partnership with tennis champion Emma Raducanu.
- An earlier version of this story indicated that Sally Bolton had persuaded the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) to cancel their association with HSBC, which was first reported in the Telegraph. The AELTC has contacted us, stating that Ms Bolton has not responded to the letter provided to her by the Commons All Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong, and has not expressed her thoughts on the collaboration. We apologize for the inaccuracy, which has been corrected in the article.